Henriette Caillaux

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Henriette Caillaux (1874-1943) was a Parisian socialite and second wife of the former Prime Minister of France. She is remembered as an assassin.

Born Henriette Raynouard, she was having an affair with Joseph Caillaux while he was still married but eventually he divorced and the two married. While serving as Minister of Finance in the government of France, Joseph Caillaux came under bitter attack from his political foes and at a time when newspapers took political sides, the editor of the Le Figaro newspaper, Gaston Calmette (1858-1914) had been a severe critic. Calmette received a letter belonging to Joseph Caillaux that journalistic etiquette at the time dictated should not be published. The letter seemed to suggest that improprieties had been committed by Caillaux; in it he appeared to admit having orchestrated the rejection of a tax bill while publicly pretending to support its passage. Calmette proceeded to publish the letter at a time when Joseph Caillaux, in his capacity as Minister of Finance, was trying to get an income tax bill passed by the French Senate. The publication of his letter severely tarnished Joseph Caillaux's reputation and caused a great political upheaval.

Madame Caillaux believed that the only way for her husband to defend his reputation would be to challenge Calmette to a duel, which, one way or another, would destroy her and her husband's life. Madame Caillaux made the decision to protect her beloved husband by sacrificing herself. On March 16, 1914, the elegant and sophisticated woman walked to the newspaper's offices where she confronted the editor. After a few words, she pulled out a pistol and fired several shots point-blank into the man's chest, killing him instantly.

Henriette Caillaux's trial dominated French public life. It featured a deposition from the president of the Republic, an unheard-of occurrence at a criminal proceeding almost anywhere, along with the fact that many of the participants were among the most powerful members of French society. At a time when feminism was still beginning to impact French society, most republican and socialist men paid no more than lip service to the feminist cause. However, it was this male chauvinism that actually proved Henriette Caillaux's best friend during the proceedings. She was defended by the prominent attorney Fernand-Gustave-Gaston Labori (1860-1917); he convinced the jury that her crime, which she did not deny, was not a premeditated act but that her uncontrollable female emotions resulted in a crime of passion. With male beliefs that women were not as strong emotionally as men, on July 28th, 1914, Madame Caillaux was acquitted.

A 1985 made for French television movie called "L'Affaire Caillaux" and a 1992 book titled The Trial of Madame Caillaux by American history professor Edward Berenson, recounts the event.